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Rev,    Fr .    Rooney's. 
Oration  on   St.    Patrick's 
Day 

By 
Antoninus   Rooney 


M 


of  Californ  . 
n  Regional     ^^ 
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■'-^"''- 


A 


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AT    LOS  ANGELES 


'^^^^t^i^^ 


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J 


« 


REV.  FR.ROOUEY'S  ORATION 


St.  PATRICK'S  Day, 


^«^ 

>-;il 


DELIVERED  AT 


St.  DoMiivric's  Church, 


SAN  FRANCISCO,  1878. 


TOGETHEE   WITH    HIS 


CRUSH.ING     REPLY 


TO  THE 


^TF(ICTUF(E3     OF    THE     j]o/Vl  JVIER  CIy\L    ^DVOCATE, 


THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PROTESTANT  ASSOCIATION 
AND  OF  CHINES«;  LABOR. 


Tho  proceeds  are  for  the  benefit  of  the  New  Academy  of  St.  Rose,  to  be  under 
the  charge  of  the  DominicaR  Sisters. 


SAN    FRANCISCO: 
PcjBLTsHED  BY  P.  J.  Thomas,  505  Clay  Stkekt,  S.  W.  Cornek  S.^NSOME. 

1878. 


fit 


I 


m.  n.  EooBEY's  mim 


J 


ON 


St.  PATRICK'S  Day, 


DELIVEBED  AT 


St.  IDoMiivric's  Chxjkch, 


SAN  FRANCISCO,  1878. 


TOGETHEB  WITH    HIS 


CRUSHING     REPLY 


TO   THE 


^TF(ICTUF(i:^     OF    THE     J^OJVIJVIE:  RC  Iy\L    ^AdVOCATE, 

THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  ABIERICAN  PROTESTANT  ASSOCIATION 
AND  OF  CHINESE  LABOR. 


The  proceeds  are  for  the  tenefit  of  the  New  Academy  of  St.  Rose,  to  be  ur-dc-r 
the  charge  of  the  Dominican  Sisters. 


SAN    FliAKCISCO: 
Published  by  P.  J.  Thomas,  505  Clay  Siheet,  S.  W.  C'okxek  Sansome. 

1878. 

PRICE,   TEN  CENTS.  ' 


«  •  •   •  «  « 


'-^•A 


a 


ORATION. 


"You  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  pur- 
chased people,  that  you  may  declare  His  virtues  who  hath  called  you  out  of 
darkness  into  His  iidmiiable  light." — 1st  Epistle  St.  Peter,  ch.  2,  verse  9. 

BELOVED  CHRISTIANS  :— It  is  not  my  intention  to  be  so 
presumptiious  as  to  imagine  that  I  can  entertain  you  to-night 
with  praise  adequate  to  the  deserts  of  Ireland's  glorious  Apostle. 
You  need  not  exj^ect  to  behold  a  perfect  delineation  of  the  rare 
virtues  and  noble  exercises  of  religion  practised  by  him;  for  not 
St.  Paul  himself,  who  had  awe-stricken  his  audience  of  the  Areopa- 
gus, nor  St.  Chrysostom,  who  received,  whilst  he  was  electrify- 
ing his  people  with  his   golden  eloquence,  a  spontaneous  burst 
of  applause,  nor  St.  Basil,  the  Christian  Demosthenes,  could  do 
justice  to  the  subject  before  me  to-night.     Nay,  there  is  no  finite 
being  that  can  trul}'  paint  the  grand  character  of  our  national 
Saint;  it  will  then  be  reserved  for  the  infinite  alone  to  pronounce 
on  the  great  accounting  day  a  perfect  eulogium  of  the  life  and 
labors  of  Ireland's  Apostle,  for  He  alone  knows  the  immensity  of 
good  he  has  accomplished,  and  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  virtues 
with  which  his  soul  was  adorned.     It  is  the  common  opinion  of  the 
J.:  learned  that  he  was  born  in  France,  of  a  noble  family,  about  the 
^-.,  end  of  the  fourth  century.     AVe  are  entirely  ignorant  of  his  ca- 
'■""  rear  of  life  until  his  sixteenth  year,  when,  by  the  disposition  of 
'r^'  an  all-wise  and  just  Providence,  he  was  led  captive,  and  sold  to 
^  a   petty   prince    in    county   Antrim,  Ireland.     After  being  six 
H5  years  in  bondage,  he  was  miraculously  delivered  from  his  shackles. 
2"  He  feels  within  himself  an  ardent  desire  of  serving  that  country  in 
J^--:  which  he  endured  all  the  pains  and  torture  of  temporal  slavery, 
r    and  desires  to  see  her  emancipated  from  the  more  galling  yoke 
that  Satan  had  put  upon  her,  and  that  she   might  be  bedizened 
with  the  nimbus  of  faith.     In  his  slumbers  he  sees  the  children 
of  Ireland  stretching  forth  their  tiny  hands  toward  him  and  im- 
ploring  him  in  piteous  tones  to  come  among  them,  and  admin- 
ister to  them  the   consoling   helps  of  religion.     A  soul  like  his, 
that  was  on  fire  with  the  love  of  God,  and  consequently  of  his 
neighbor,  could  not  resist  such  an  appeal.     He  recognized  that 
it  was   the  will  of  God  that   he  should  dedicate  himself  to  His 
service  in  the  holy  ministry,  and  he  at  once  set  about  qualifying 
himself  for   that   noble   and  more  than  angelic  dut}-.     He  said 
within  his  holy  soul:  "  As  God  has  evidently  called  me  to  be  an 
apostle,  to  be  a  messenger  of  His  divine  word,  He  wishes  that  I 
take  the  proper  means  to  arrive  at  such  an  august  end."     He  is 
fully  aware  that  there  are  three  things  which  are  essentially  ne- 
cessary to  a  priest,  with  which  he  can  do  all  things  and  without 
which  he  will  infallibly  expose  to  perdition  his  own  soul  and  the 


3'70r»6 


^a 


souls  of  those  committed  to  his  care.  Those  three  things  are 
sanctity,  learning  and  zeal  In  order  to  save  his  own  soul  he 
must  be  holy,  and  therefore  he  considered  the  sanctification  of 
his  own  soul  as  paramount  to  every  other  consideration;  for  of 
what  avail  would  it  have  been  to  him  if  he  gained  the  whole 
world  over  to  Christianity,  if  he  lost  his  own  soul?  He  knew  that 
all  men  are  bound  to  live  holily,  but  especially  the  ambassadors 
of  Christ,  to  whom,  in  a  special  manner,  it  was  said:  "  Be  ye 
holy,  as  I  the  Lord  your  God  am  holy."  "  Let  your  light  so 
shine  before  men  that  they  may  see  your  good  works  and  glorify 
your  Father  who  is  in  heaven;  be  ye  imitators  of  me  as  I  am  of 
My  Father."  Of  them  the  Apostle  says:  "Let  them  minister 
having  no  crime."  He  is  fully  impressed  that  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures command  sanctity  to  jjriests  es2:)ecialh^  The  second  quali- 
fication that  he  knows  is  necessary  for  a  priest  is  science — not 
that  science  that  puffeth  up,  and  tends  rather  to  divert  from,  than 
serve  to  conduce  to  the  fuliillment  of  his  duty — but  that  science 
that  will  aid  and  assist  him  in  carrying  out  the  great  designs  God 
had  in  view  in  selecting  him  and  in  calling  him  to  the  dignity  to 
which  he  asj)ired.  He  knew  that  it  was  necessary  to  be  perfectly 
conversant  with  the  sacred  Scriptures,  which  undoubtedly  he  was, 
to  make  the  guide  of  his  own  life  and  that  of  others;  he  felt  that 
he  should  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church  who  preceded  him,  in  order  that  he  may  make  their  holy 
and  untarnished  conduct  the  rule  of  his  own.  To  this  know- 
ledge he  was  bound,  and  nothing  could  dissuade  him  from  the 
pursuit  of  it.  He  heard  the  divine  oracles  already  passing  sen- 
tence of  condemnation  on  him  did  he  not  become  filled  with  the 
science  without  which  it  would  be  far  better  for  him  not  to  be 
enrolled  among  the  clergy.  He  heard  the  Almighty  declaring, 
in  most  emphatic  language,  by  the  mouth  of  the  projjhet  Malachy, 
those  truly  remarkable  passages:  "Because  you  have  rejected 
science,  I  have  rejected  you  from  the  ministry  of  my  j^riesthood." 
The  lips  of  the  priest  shall  keep  knowledge,  and  they  (the  peo- 
ple) shall  seek  the  law  at  his  mouth,  because  he  is  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  of  Hosts."  From  the  prophet  Osee  he  learned  that  the 
same  Lord  commanded  the  people  to  "ask  the  priests"  on  all 
points  that  in  any  way  concerned  their  salvation,  and  therefore 
he  well  understood  that  if  the  priests  are  to  answer  the  difficul- 
ties proposed  by  the  peoj^le,  they  must  be  deeply  versed  in  sci- 
ence. He  stood  terrified  at  the  unerring  words  of  Christ,  "  If 
the  blind  lead  the  blind,  they  will  both  fall  into  the  ditch."  He 
shuddered  at  those  still  more  terrifying  words  of  Holy  Writ: 
"  Wo  to  you,  blind  leaders."  Deeply  j^enetrated  with  those  solid 
maxims,  he  says  within  his  noble  soul,  "I will  not  be  ignorant 
of  my  duty;  I  will  become  a  doctor,  as  the  Apostle  requires  of 
me.  If  Solon  and  Lycurgus  labored  and  traveled  so  much  in 
order  that  they  might  frame  a  code  of  laws  for  the  good  of  their 
neighbors,  why  should  not  I  strenuously  exert  myself,  not  to  frame 
human  laws,  but  to  propound  the  greatest  of  all  laws — verily, 
that  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  " 


L  5  ] 

In  keeping  with  this  resolution,  he  undertook  a  painful  journey 
to  foreign  parts,  to  enrich  his  mind  with  learning  and  experience, 
and  spent  in  the  acquiring  of  these  about  thirty  years.  Under 
Martin  of  Tours  he  received  a  perfect  knowledge  of  church  dis- 
cipline. After  the  death  of  this  illustrious  prelate.,  his  uncle, 
he  betook  himself  to  the  famous  St.  Germain  of  Auxerre,  from 
whom  he  imbibed  the  knowledge  of  humanities  and  the  inferior 
science,  and  by  whom  he  was  ordained  priest.  He  also  spent 
some  time  in  Rome  among  the  canons  regular,  from  whom  he 
obtained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 
The  third  qualification  that  he  is  fully  aware  to  be  necessary  for  a 
priest,  is  zeal  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  neighbor.  For,  said 
he,  if  every  man  is  bound  to  love  his  neighbor  as  himself,  the 
minister  of  God  who  dedicates  himself  in  a  special  manner  to 
His  service  is  bound  to  undergo  every  danger,  even  death  itself, 
for  the  salvation  of  souls;  as  Christ  declares,  "  The  good  shepherd 
layeth  down  his  life  for  his  flock."  Having  the  due  qualities  re- 
quired by  God  and  His  Church  for  properly  fulfilling  his  ministry, 
he  j)laces  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  Yicar  of  Christ,  Pope  Ce- 
lestine,  in  order  that  he  may  receive  from  him  his  commission 
and  credentials  to  preach.  That  holy  Pontiff  received  him  with 
open  arms,  and  rejoiced  exceedingly  to  find  so  noble  and  com- 
l>etent  an  instrument  for  the  task  in  hand.  He  immediately  con- 
secrated him,  gave  him  plenipotentiary  power,  and  dismissed 
him  with  his  benediction  to  the  ocean  island.  Despite  all  oppo- 
sition, despite  every  impediment  thrown  in  his  way  by  relations, 
he  turns  his  thoughts  and  bends  his  course  to  beautiful  Erin, 
determined  to  convert  her.  He  cares  not  what  dangers,  what 
troubles,  what  toils  he  has  to  encounter,  provided  he  can  gain 
souls  to  Christ.  He  is  willing,  as  was  his  prototype,  .^t.  Paul, 
to  become  an  anathema,  to  gain  souls  and  plant  the  Church.  He 
was  ready  to  offer  himself  as  a  holocaust,  to  suffer  martyrdom, 
provided  the  Church  would  pullulate  by  the  effusion  of  his  blood. 

Behold,  children  of  St.  Patrick,  that  grand  old  man,  nearly  sixty 
years  of  age,  entering  the  land  of  our  forefathers.  At  the  ap- 
proach of  this  flambeau  of  the  Gospel,  darkness,  ignorance  and 
error  departed  from  the  land;  their  place  was  no  longer  to  be 
found,  and  the  contrary  virtues  ornamented  the  souls  of  those 
poor  creatures  who  had  lain  in  the  labyrinth  or  mazes  of  infidel- 
ity. He  penetrated  fearlessly  into  the  whole  island,  arming  him- 
self with  the  shield  of  confidence  in  that  God  in  whose  service 
he  was  so  intently  engaged.  He  proceeded  to  the  Hill  of  Tara, 
in  order  to  have  a  chance  to  preach  to  the  chiefs  of  Ireland,  who 
were  then  assembled  there  to  celebrate  their  paganish  rites,  fully 
aware  that  he  would  have  to  contend  with  the  potent  princes, 
and  with  the  almost  oppressive  argumentation  of  the  learned 
Druids;  but  he  knew,  too,  that  he  was  more  than  a  match  for 
them,  and  he  was  convinced  that  he  would  there  stem  the  torrent 
of  iniquity,  and  that  he  would  rescue  many  noble  souls  from  the 
very  jaws  of  the  dragon  of  error.  As  a  reward  of  his  courage 
and  intrepidity  several  were  converted  on  the  spot.  Having 
gained  a  great  victory  here,  and  being  much  encouraged  thereat. 


[6] 

he  next  repairs  to  the  royal  Courts  of  Dublin  and  Munster,  where 
he  set  forth  the  truths  of  Christianity  with  such  unction  and  ardor 
that  thousands  enrolled  themselves  under  the  banner  of  the  Cross. 
He  turns  his  attention  to  the  ordaining  of  fit  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel— men  who  were  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  and  en- 
dowed with  the  heroism  of  apostles;  men  found  worthy  to  be  ea- 
rolled  among  the  angels  of  the  Church  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  He 
was  a  most  tender  father  to  all;  they  desired  to  be  always  with  him. 
The  people  of  Ireland  placed  all  their  riches  at  his  feet,  saying, 
Why  should  not  we  give  all  our  earthly  goods  to  him  who  has 
caused  the  heavens  to  rain  down  so  plentifully  on  us  all  spiritual 
favors?  But,  no;  he  would  never  accept  of  the  least  present  from 
them.  His  noble  soul  could  not  bear  to  be  sullied  with  the  base 
passion  of  lucre.  He  would  rather  give  than  take,  and  he 
showered  profusely  his  alms  on  the  poor.  He  had  the  Irish,  as 
the  apostles  had  the  first  Christians,  all  "  of  one  heart  and  one 
soul."  His  zeal  knew  no  bounds;  he  was  not  satisfied  A\ith 
christianiziag  Ireland;  he  was  not  content  with  raising  the  Cross 
there :  he  built  schools  and  seminaries  of  leai'ning  throughout 
the  land;  h^  provided  them  with  the  best  teachers  in  order  that 
he  might  cultivate  those  bright  intellects  which  the  Apostle 
himself  assures  us  the  Irish  had.  He  filled  the  land  with  monas- 
teries, for  he  saw,  as  he  himself  tells  us,  that  when  the  Irish 
once  knew  the  truth,  they  would  follow  it  and  hold  to  it,  and 
would  carry  it  to  its  supernaturally  logical  conclusion — that  is, 
give  themselves  up  to  the  most  exalted  practices  of  religion. 
After  having  converted  all  Ireland,  he  repaired  to  Rome  to  ren- 
^der  an  account  of  his  mission  and  labors  to  the  Supreme  Pontiff 
who  then  occupied  the  chair  of  Peter.  The  venerable  Vicar  of 
Christ  received  him  most  kindly,  and  with  the  greatest  joy 
confirmed  him  in  the  apostolate  of  Ireland,  and  sent  him  back 
armed  with  the  legatine  authority.  On  his  return  to  Ireland  he 
spent  some  time  in  repairing  and  building  monasteries  and 
churches,  and  in  framing  laws  for  the  guidance  and  direction  of 
his  clergy.  Now,  seeing  that  his  end  was  nigh,  and  that  he  had 
already  accomplished  his  great  task  of  evangelizing  Ireland,  he 
entered  a  monastery.  There  he  lived  for  twenty  years,  practis- 
.ng  all  virtues,  ascending  the  mountain  of  God  with  unabated 
ardor.  Under  these  circumstances  did  he  render  his  pure  soul 
into  the  hands  of  the  Creator.  What  must  now  be  the  reward 
of  that  saint?  If  a  simple  saint,  laboring  in  retirement  and 
buried  from  the  gaze  of  the  world,  will  be  surrounded  with  in- 
effable light  in  God'3  Kingdom,  what  must  not  now  be  the  glory, 
the  recompense  of  this  Abraham  of  Ireland,  this  Melchisedec  of 
the  Irish  priesthood,  this  Moses  of  the  Irish  legislators,  this 
Saint  John  of  Ireland's  Virgins,  this  Saint  Paul  of  her  fiery  and 
invincible  apostles,  this  Saint  Peter  of  the  Church — the  rock  on 
which  this  special  Church  was  founded,  and  which  more  than  any 
other  has  partaken  of  the  nature  and  powers  of  the  Universal 
Church  founded  on  Peter?  He  certainly  must  i-eceive  a  great  re- 
ward who  made  of  a  land  that  was  filled  with  thorns  and  briars 
the  garden  that  was  covered  with  flowers  of  the  most  odoriferous 


[7] 

kind,  who  placed  in  it  the  most  exquisite  plants — the  holy  souls 
that  continually  sing  the  praise  of  the  Immaculate  Lamb,  those 
lilies,  the  virgins,  who,  most  of  all,  adorn  our  holy  Church  !  His 
labors  are  summed  up  in  brief,  by  saying  that  he  converted  all 
Ireland,  he  built  innumerable  monasteries,  he  erected  seven 
hundred  churches,  consecrated  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
bishops,  and  ordained  three  thousand  priests. 

How  sublime  all  this,  and  how  great  must  not  be  his  reward 
for  his  labors  undertaken  from  a  divine  motive  ! 

I  now  turn  my  attention,  in  order  to  show  still  more  forcibly 
how  well  St.  Patrick  did  his  work,  to  the  Irish  Church  herself. 
The  children  reflect  the  father,  and  the  character  of  the  father  is 
deejjly  ingrained  into  the  nature  of  the  children.  It  is  truly 
wonderful,  after  seeing  so  many  trials  to  which  they  have  been 
subjected,  to  see  the  Irish  Church  as  deeply  rooted  in  the  faith 
as  when  Patrick  had  christianized  them.  Who  can  explain  how 
the  Irish  Church  has  remained  firm  and  apostolic  amidst  the 
storms  of  ages,  when  not  a  Church  established  by  the  apostles, 
except  that  by  Peter,  has  come  down  to  us  ?  Where  now  is  the 
Church  of  Antioch,  Smyrna,  Corinth,  Jerusalem,  Thessalonica, 
Ephesus,  Colossse,  and  others  founded  by  the  first  Apostles,  who 
were  certainly  qualified  directly  by  God  himself  ?  They  have 
vanished  from  the  face  of  the  earth!  The  Roman  See,  the  centre 
of  unity,  built  by  and  on  Peter,  remains.  Like  the  See  of  Rome, 
the  Irish  Church  shows  supernatural  life  that  never  was  or  could 
be  extinguished.  There  is,  in  fact,  something  very  strange  in 
this  striking  resemblance  between  Ireland  and  Rome;  and  who 
can  explain  why  it  is  so  ?  Unquestionably,  the  steadfast,  un- 
wavering, undying,  invincible  faith  of  Rome  is  in  Ireland  to  this 
hour,  and  it  can  never  be  rooted  out  of  the  noble  hearts  of  the 
Irish.  God  seems  to  have  gifted  Ireland  with  the  durability  of 
the  faith  of  Rome.  Now,  why  is  it  that  Ireland  has  been  so 
particularly  blessed  above  all  other  nations  and  peoples  ?  Why 
is  it  that  the  faith  that  is  God-given  remains  in  them  as  a  nation, 
even  as  it  does  in  the  Roman  Church — the  mother  and  mistress 
of  Chvii'ches,  and  to  which  all  Churches  must  conform  ? 

I  can  assign  three  reasons  for  this  wonderful  effect  that  is  so 
noticeable  even  to  a  child.  The  first  is,  that  St.  Patrick  himself 
impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  Irish  that  they  were  Christians 
only  in  proportion  as  they  were  obedient  to  the  Pope  of  Rome. 
This  truth  was  so  deeply  imbedded  in  their  souls  that,  in  all 
troubles,  in  all  doubts  and  anxieties,  the  Irish  looked  for  com- 
fort to  Rome.  Hear  how  our  noble  Apostle  speaks  on  this  sub- 
ject in  his  Confessions:  "  Ut  estis  Ghristiani,  ila  siiis  Eomani." 
"  As  you  are  Christians,  so  also  be  true  Romans."  That  sentence, 
which  has  rung  on  the  minds  of  the  Irish  in  every  age  since  its 
utterance,  has  been  the  safe-guard  of  our  faith.  So  long  as  we 
treasure  up  that  truth  in  our  souls,  and  follow  its  meaning,  so 
long  will  we  have  durability  of  faith.  Ireland  never  listened 
to  a  heretic;  Ireland  never  begat  an  arch-heretic;  Ireland  never 
lost  the  lustre  of  her  faith,  because  St.  Patrick  taught  her  to 
be,  above  all  things,  Roman.     Irishmen  who  hear  me,  swear  to 


L8] 

be,  above  all  things,  truly  Koman,  and  never  listen  to  a  bishop, 
priest,  or  layman  who  dares  to  contradict  the  voice  of  Rome. 
In  your  societies,  in  your  gatherings,  in  your  conventions,  never 
let  anything  be  done  by  you,  the  daughter,  the  Irish  Church, 
that  would  insult  your  mother — the  Church  of  Eome.  Never 
allow  any  man  that  opposes  Rome  to  have  influence  amongst 
you.  In  a  word,  be  true  to  the  teachings  of  St.  Patrick,  your 
well  beloved  Apostle — "You  must  be  obedient  to  Rome  to  be 
true  Christians,'"  and  you  will  continue  the  admiration  of  the 
world,  but,  above  all,  of  your  mother — Rome,  for  your  undying 
faith.  The  kings  of  Ireland  never  asked  the  people  of  Ireland 
to  obey  them  in  preference  to  the  Pope;  in  Ireland  there  was 
never  a  question  of  disobeying  the  Pope.  The  Pope,  in  the 
Irish  mind,  as  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  Church,  is  next  to 
Grod;  and  hence  the  Irish  remained  as  St.  Patrick  wished,  real, 
genuine  Romans.  May  God  grant  that  they  will  ever  remain 
so,  and  their  faith  shall  never  die! 

The  second  reason  for  the  undying  faith  of  the  Irish  Church 
is,  that  although  God  made  Rome  the  centre  of  unity,  the  home 
of  authority,  and  the  citadel  of  apostolicity,  yet  He  designed 
another  place  as  the  nursery  of  missionaries  to  diffuse  the 
truths  emanating  from  Rome.  Ireland  has  been,  from  the  time 
of  her  conversion,  that  missionary  centre,  that  nursery  of 
Apostles.  Rome  had  so  much  to  do  with  those  missionaries  in 
every  age  and  in  every  clime,  that  Eome  meant  everything 
religious  to  Ireland.  They  lived  on  the  very  breath  of  Rome; 
they  despised  even  in  little  things  what  Rome  despised,  and 
they  loved  what  Rome  loved,  and  unfalteringly  they  believed 
what  Rome  believed.  The  Irish  peojDle,  then,  from  the  kings  to 
the  lowest  subjects,  knew,  and  all  acted  up  to  this  knowledge, 
that  the  Pope  in  religion  was  everything.  How  could  they  lose 
the  faith  of  Rome  when  they  paid  no  attention  to  any  man  who 
had  not  his  credentials  from  Rome  ?  The  same  spirit  is  to  be 
found  to-day  in  the  Irish  Church.  In  the  seminaries,  in  the 
halls  of  learning,  the  young  candidates  were  continually  hearing 
from  their  professors,  that  the  Poj^e  (not  the  king)  wants  so 
many  Irish  missionaries  to  go  to  such  a  place.  Any  man  can 
easily  see  that  such  continual,  close  contact  with  infallible  Rome 
has  kept  Ireland  always  Romanized.  Thank  God,  it  is  so,  and 
may  Ireland  ever  be  the  nursery,  the  seminary  from  which  her 
mother,  Rome,  will  ever  be  able  to  call  foi'th  innumerable  efficient 
missionaries  to  evangelize  nations  and  peoples  ! 

The  third  reason  for  the  intense  faith  of  Ireland  is,  that 
Ireland  seems,  in  a  certain  sense,  to  deserve  this  favor.  That 
is,  above  all  other  nations,  she  deserves  it,  from  the  fact  that  she 
received  the  faith  so  readily  and  so  joyfully  when  proposed  to 
her.  Ireland  did  not  put  her  Apostle  to  death ;  she  did  not  re- 
fuse to  acknowledge  the  miracles  of  St.  Patrick;  she  did  not, 
at  any  time,  spill  one  drop  of  Christian  blood  to  persecute  the 
Church.  This  eulogv  cannot  be  said  or  pronounced  in  favor  of 
any  other  nation.  Ireland  stands  before  the  world  in  this  respect 
without  a  companion  ! 


[9] 

Let  us  ever  bear  in  mind  that  this  fact  shows,  beyond  question, 
the  high  state  of  civilization  that  Ireland  possessed  even  before 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  to  its  shores.  It  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  our  pagan  ancestors  were  not  steeped  in  any  of 
the  degrading  practices  to  which  Greece,  Rome  and  Egypt  were 
addicted.  Our  noble  land  never  offered  human  sacrifices,  nor 
did  she  pa}^  homage  to  the  low  animals;  she  adored  only  the  sun, 
moon  and  stars,  as  figures  and  representatives  of  light.  How 
different  the  condition  of  the  Irish  people  from  all  others!  How 
intelligent,  how  refined,  how  free  from  barbarism,  how  friendly 
to  each  other  and  how  hospitable  to  strangers,  even  whilst  yet 
under  the  pagan  yoke!  Irishmen,  we  have  reason  to  be  proud 
of  even  our  pagan  ancestors  as  well  as  of  our  Christian  fore- 
fathers. There  was  no  stain  upon  our  escutcheon,  even  whilst 
we  were  pagans.  God  himself  seems  to  have  especially  rewarded 
Ireland  for  her  natural  virtues,  for  her  moral  observances,  by 
pouring  out  exuberantly  and  superabundantly  upon  her  the  price- 
less gift  of  faith  with  its  concomitants.  I  am  thoroughly  con- 
vinced that  those  three  reasons  fully  explain  the  perpetuity  of 
Ireland's  faith.  And  yet,  no  nation,  no  people  was  ever  more 
sorely  tried,  more  terribly  exposed,  nor  more  cruelly  treated, 
because  of  the  faith,  than  the  noble  Irish  race.  It  was  assaulted 
by  the  Saxon  and  the  Dane,  by  the  learning  of  Usher  and  by 
Protestantism;  it  has  withstood  the  terrible  ordeal  of  a  penal 
code,  such  as  neither  heathen  or  barbarian  is  recorded  to  have 
devised. 

The  Celtic  Church  !  What  memories  are  conjured  up  at  that 
name!  what  a  vision  of  glory  and  of  gloom,  of  bright  ages,  of 
light  and  love  and  joy!  what  horrid  pictures  of  desolation  and 
thraldom  and  exile,  what  unextinguishable  vitality  and  undying 
fidelity  to  faith  and  nationality  are  mirrored  in  that  name  ! 
Fourteen  hundred  years  have  tested  the  indestructibility  of  the 
edifice  which  Saint  Patrick  erected,  and  it  is  to-day  as  young,  as 
fresh  and  as  beautiful  as  when  it  was  first  built  up  by  his 
pure  hands  whose  feast  we  to-day  celebrate;  and  the  faith 
which  he,  under  God,  gave  to  us,  is  as  ineradicably  fixed  in  the 
heart  of  the  Celtic  race  as  Erin  is  in  the  ocean.  But  faith,  undy- 
ing, is  not  the  only  virtue  of  the  Irish  people.  Purity,  gene- 
rosity, hosj)itality,  respect  for  parents,  for  old  age,  for  the  min- 
isters of  the  altar,  and  kindness  and  sympathy  for  sufferers  of 
every  description,  are  prominent  features  in  the  Irish  character. 
It  is  generally  believed  that  peoj)le  that  have  strong  faith  are 
pure.  There  is  not  a  people  on  earth,  who,  as  a  nation,  are  as 
pure  as  the  Irish  !  Modesty  is  stamped  uj^on  their  very  counten- 
ances; the  Irish  girls  all  over  the  world  are  the  admiration  of  all 
who  give  a  thought  to  this  subject.  How  often  are  they  not  ex- 
posed, in  various  ways,  and  yet,  how  singularly  they  triumph  over 
all  temptations  and  the  many  inducements  held  out  to  them! 
Theit  faith- -love  of  God  and  of  the  Immaculate  Mary — guards 
their  chastity,  and  their  singular  chastity  intensifies  their  faith. 
How  generous  are  not  the  Irish  people  !  Their  generosity  has 
become  proverbial.     For  the  Church,  for  charities,  for  suffering 


[10] 

humanity,  their  generosity  surpasses  that  of  all  other  people. 
What  a  gTand  sight  did  not  Ireland  present,  when  for  three 
hundred  years  her  magnificent  schools  were  open  to  students 
frori  all  parts  of  Europe,  who  received  education,  food  and  lodg- 
ing, gratuitously  !  How  generously  the  Irish  people  took  care  of 
the  couutless  students  during  this  long  period  of  time  !  How 
nobly  the  Irish  kings  and  people  laid  aside  land  and  moneys,  and 
purchased  manuscripts,  for  the  benefit  of  those  in  quest  of  learn- 
ing !  All  this  proves  not  only  the  generosity  of  the  Irish  race, 
but  their  thirst  for  learning,  and  their  desire  to  see  it  propagated. 
The  same  spirit  of  generosity  exists  to-day  in  all  its  warmth. 
Who  build  our  churches  ?  who  erect  our  orphanages  and  reli- 
gious institutions  ?  who  support  religion  ?  who  are  the  promoters 
of  every  charitable  object?  Everybody  exclaims,  it  is  the  Irish. 
The  homes  of  the  Irish  are  ever  open  to  the  traveler  and  the  way- 
worn, and  there  is  no  charge.  Their  salute  to  the  poor,  on  com- 
ing to  their  houses  is,  "a  hundred  thousand  welcomes,"  and 
"  God  and  the  Blessed  Virgin  be  with  vou,"  when  thev  are  de- 
parting  from  the  place  to  which  they  were  so  kindly  welcomed. 
No  people  manifest  so  much  warmth  of  heart,  exhibit  so  much 
friendliness  to,  or  do  so  much  to  make  strangers  feel  at  home  as 
the  Irish.  Their  hospitality,  like  their  generosity,  is  proverbial. 
The  Irish  are  the  most  devoted  to  their  parents;  even  when  chil- 
dren get  married  and  have  their  own  families,  they  never  lose 
sight  of  the  reverence  due  to  the  authors  of  their  being;  they  con- 
sult their  aged  parents  on  all  points  of  importance,  and  are 
most  careful  to  see  that  their  parents  want  for  nothing.  You 
have  a  most  striking  proof  of  how  devoted  children  are  to  their 
parents  in  the  fact  of  so  many  persons  of  both  sexes,  here,  send- 
ing home  all  their  earnings  for  the  support  of  those  they  dearly 
love.  Here  people  pay  little  or  no  attention  to  relationship; 
but  the  Irish  act  diflferently.  Old  age  is  regarded  in  Ireland  as 
something  venerable  !  The  profligate,  debauchee,  the  seeker  of 
pleasure,  is,  generally  speaking,  cut  off  while  yet  young.  It  is 
only  the  pure,  the  regular,  the  temperate  man,  as  a  rule,  that  at- 
tains to  ripe  old  age.  God  promises  to  obedient  children  length 
of  days;  and  hence  the  Irish  have  the  profoundest  respect  for  old 
men  and  old  women.  There  they  are  not  laughed  at;  their  words 
are  regarded  as  wisdom ;  there  evervbodv  is  willing  to  do  honor 
to,  and  to  treat  with  marked  kindness,  those  whose  hair  is  silvered 
and  whose  step  is  unsteady  from  age.  But  what  shall  I  say  of 
their  reverence  for  the  ministers  of  the  altar  ?  There  is  no  peo- 
ple on  earth  that  so  thoroughly  understand  the  dignity,  the  sub- 
lime character  of  the  priesthood,  as  the  Irish.  They  know  pre- 
cisely what  a  priest  is,  that  he  is  the  "  mouthpiece  of  God,"  that 
he  is  the  "  coadjutor  of  Jesus  Christ,"  that  he  is  the  "  angel  of 
the  Lord  of  Hosts."  They  know  that,  no  matter  what  fault  he 
may  have  as  a  man,  the  brilliancy  of  his  priestly  character  re- 
mains forever  undimmed.  There  is  a  reason  for  this  special  re- 
spect which  the  Irish  pay  to  their  priests.  There  is  no  doubt 
about  it,  the  Irish  priests  have  deserved  all  the  affection  and  love 
of  the  Irish  people;  and  cursed  will  be  the  day  when  the  Irish 


[11] 

priests  aud  people  will  take  different  roads  !  Irish  priests  have 
been  true  to  Rome  and  true  to  noble  Ireland.  They  never  for- 
got to  inculcate  sound  faith,  and  they  were  true  patriots.  The 
Irish  priests  never  taught  the  people  of  Ireland  that  it  was  wrong 
to  love  Ireland  next  to  their  religion,  nor  that  it  was  wrong  to 
shake  off  the  galling  yoke  of  England,  that  was  placed  on  her 
noble  neck  by  treachery,  chicanery  and  duplicity;  no — nor  did 
the  Irish  priests  forbid  their  people  to  chop  off  the  leg  of  the 
tyrant  when  his  accursed  heel  was  on  our  mother's  noble  breast. 
They  only  said:  Beloved  people,  you  know  we  are  your  friends, 
nay,  more,  your  fathers  in  God — do  not  resist  the  tyrant  now;  if 
you  attempt  it,  you  will  be  all  butchered.  Abide  j'our  time;  hope 
of  success  will  yet  beam  upon  your  just  cause,  and  when  that 
time  comes,  we,  your  priests,  will  lead  you  to  victory,  and  not 
to  death.  The  Irish  people  have,  indeed,  reason  to  revere  their 
priests,  for  those  priests  guarded  them  from,  and  admonished  them 
of  danger.  When  had  the  Irish  people  reason  to  regret  follow- 
ing their  advice?  Never  !  But,  alas  !  they  often  had  to  weep 
for  disobeying  them.  The  priests  of  Ireland,  as  a  body,  were 
always  a  most  learned  class  of  men — they  were  well  versed  in  the 
topics  of  the  day;  they  were  generally  posted  on  all  the  chances 
of  success  the  people  had,  and  the  terrible  evils  that  would  fol- 
low in  case  of  failure  in  their  undertaking.  They  weighed  these 
two  sides  well  before  God,  and  they  gave  their  children  the  ben- 
efit of  their  knowledge. 

There  is  nothing  more  sickening  than  to  hear  illiterate  peo- 
ple, and  young,  would-be  smart  fops  who  actually  could  not  give 
you  the  outlines  of  Irish  history  nor  the  catechism  of  Ireland's 
wrongs,  blaming  the  priests  of  Ireland  for  her  long  subjection  to 
English  misrule.  Let  me  tell  you,  and  I  tell  you  with  the  blaz- 
ing torch  of  history  before  me,  that  the  Irish  priests  have  been  the 
saviors  of  their  people,  for,  long  since,  would  they  have  been 
butchered  and  exterminated  were  it  not  for  the  priests.  The  Irish 
priests  knew  well  that  there  was  not  a  secret  society  in  Ireland 
at  any  time  since  their  establishment  there  that  did  not  contain 
English  sjDies,  who  knew  every  man  in  the  organization,  and  who 
kept  the  English  Government  posted  on  each  man's  doings.  The 
government  allowed  those  societies  to  go  on  with  their  meetings, 
to  mature  their  plans,  to  sometimes  break  out  in  rebellion,  for 
the  sake  of  accompli-shing  her  devilish  work  of  gibbetting,  quar- 
tering, etc.  Who  knew  better  than  the  priests  the  danger  these 
poor  men  were  exposing  themselves  to  without  a  shadow  of  hope 
of  success,  and  therefore  they  endeavored  to  dissuade  the  people 
from  attaching  themselves  to  such  societies,  knowing  well  that 
their  names,  as  soon  as  they  were  recorded  on  the  lodge-book, 
would  be  forwarded  to  the  Castle.  It  is  only  the  ignorant  or 
malicious  that  will  blame  the  priests  of  Ireland.  The  would-be 
smart  ones  and  the  sneering  infidel  Irishmen,  with  whom  I  have 
already  warned  you  to  be  on  your  guard,  will  pompously  ex- 
claim— and  while  they  are  so  doing,  you  would  be  tempted  to  im- 
agine that  Solomon  must  have  loaned  those  speakers  his  judicial 
wandj  since  he  could  not  have  loaned  them  any  more  wisdom  ; 


[12] 

"  But  the  Irish  priests  are  not  patriotic;  they  never  go  with  the 
people ;  they  are  always  preaching  obedience  to  the  most  cursed 
of  governments."  The  priests  are  men  of  sense;  they  are  not 
madmen;  they  study  and  see  conclusions,  and  wisely  tell  the  peo- 
ple to  wait  yet  longer,  and  to  keep  aloof  from  unnecessary  and 
wanton  danger.  Does  a  man  lose  his  patriotism,  his  love  of  coun- 
try, his  devotion  to  his  nation,  by  becoming  a  priest?  Heaven 
fori3id  such  a  thought  in  any  man's  mind  !  My  own  solemn  opin- 
ion is,  that  a  man  always  becomes  patriotic  in  proportion  to  his 
religious  convictions.  Irishmen,  if  there  be  one  man  that  I  warn 
you  against  above  all  others  as  the  enemy  of  your  race  and  your 
creed,  and  as  the  traitor  to  your  cause  in  the  hour  of  trial,  that 
man  is  he  who  mocks  your  priests,  who  bids  you  to  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  them,  who  lures  you  to  forbidden  societies,  and  who  is 
himself  a  member  of  condemned  and  secret  organizations.  Have 
no  fellowship  with  those  of  that  ilk.  Ireland's  cause  is  just. 
She  has  suffered,  for  religion  and  nationality,  wrongs  unparalleled 
in  history.  She  need  have  no  fear  of  being  condemned  by  Grod 
or  the  Church  so  long  as  she  acts  wisely,  prudently,  and  not 
under  the  guidance  of  madcaps,  who  have,  unfortunately,  but 
too  often  exposed  us  to  ridicule  and  contempt,  and  have  given 
England  fresh  opportunities  to  persecute  us  still  more. 

Yes,  Irishmen,  always  trust,  as  you  ever  have,  as  a  nation, 
your  priests  ;  and  when  the  propitious  moment  will  come  to 
settle  accounts  with  old,  brutal  England,  the  murderer  of  your 
priests  and  of  your  forefathers,  the  merciless  despoiler  of  your 
sanctuaries,  the  pilferer  of  your  possessions,  and  the  cruel  hater 
of  your  grand  old  Roman  Catholic  faith,  those  priests  will  bless 
the  sword  that  you  will  use  that  it  may  cut  the  more  keenly,  and 
the  bullet  that  it  may  perforate  the  more  deeply,  and  your  hands 
that  they  may  wield  the  weapons  the  more  powerfully,  and  your 
nerves  that  they  may  be  the  more  steady,  in  carrying  out  the 
revenge  which,  as  a  people,  you  have  a  just  right  to  wreak  on 
your  worst  enemy.  Yes,  and  the  bloody  memories  of  the  past 
seven  hundred  years  will  rise  up  before' you,  and  the  martyred 
dead,  and  the  starved  population  of  Ireland  will  cry  out:  Avenge 
us,  our  descendants,  and  blot  out  forever  the  nation  that  has  so 
outraged  faith  and  nationality  !  Irishmen,  you  have  no  necessity 
to  join  secret  societies — they  are  reprobated  by  the  Church,  and 
never  brought  anything  but  evil  wherever  they  existed.  Keep 
out  of  them,  and  if  you  had  the  misfortune  of  entering  them, 
cut  loose  from  them,  in  God's  name.  "  A  nation,"  says  Saint 
Augustine,  "  has  no  soul ;"  then  it  must  be  rewarded  or  punished 
here  according  to  its  deserts. 

What  a  terrible  reckoning  England  will  have  to  give  after 
seven  hundred  years  of  cruelty  to  poor,  noble,  ever-faithful  Ire- 
land !  From  the  time  of  the  invasion  down  to  the  days  of  Henry 
VIII.,  from  the  twelfth  to  the  sixteenth  century.  Catholic  Eng- 
land sought  to  rob  us  of  our  nationality,  and  for  this  purpose 
belied  us  before  the  world,  and,  by  her  lying,  actually  sank  us 
low  in  the  estimation  of  all  Europe.  She  made  laws  by  which 
all  the  people  of  Ireland,  except  five  families,  were  to  be  regard- 


ri3] 

ed  as  mere  animals,  so  that  no  Irishman,  outside  of  those  fami- 
lies, was  allowed  to  become  a  religious,  or  to  enjoy  the  rights  of 
a  man.  From  the  days  of  Henry  VIII.,  or  from  the  sixteenth 
century  down  to  the  present  time,  England  has  endeavored  to 
destroy  not  only  our  nationality,  but  our  religion.  She  has  suc- 
ceeded no  better  than  her  Catholic  ancestors  in  this  double  pur- 
pose of  hers.  Great  God!  my  very  soul  sickens  at  the  sight  of 
the  tortures,  iarials,  persecutions,  and  all  manner  of  grievances 
inflicted  upon  my  noble  mother,  Ireland.  Proscription  of 
learning  in  the  whole  island,  banishment  of  the  learned  from 
their  sanctuaries,  the  murder  or  exile  of  priests,  the  starvation 
of  the  people,  the  gibbet,  the  halter,  the  rack,  the  jail,  the  hor- 
rible penal  code — in  a  word,  ever^^'thing  that  the  united  efforts  of 
earth  and  hell  could  make  use  of  to  exterminate  us  as  a  people 
and  to  destroy  our  holy  religion,  to  which  we  clung  so  fondly 
and  so  truly. 

Ireland  shed  no  blood  in  the  establishment  of  her  religion; 
but  enough  has  been  shed  in  Ireland  since  she  was  forced  by 
villainy  to  a  union  with  cursed  England  to  merit  for  her  the  title 
of  the  "  Island  of  Martyrs."  We  would  be  the  most  craven,  cring- 
ing i-ace,  unworthy  of  the  name  of  men,  if,  when  God  gives  us  the 
chance  to  throw  off  the  shackles  that  England  has  placed  upon 
us,  we  do  not  do  it.  How  long,  O  God!  how  long  must  we  wait 
for  this  chance?  And  the  answer  comes  back:  Prepare,  it  will  be 
soon,  and  I  will  be  with  you.  Your  cause  is  just;  it  is  mine,  too. 
Soberly,  orderly,  prudently  do  your  duty  for  your  country;  it  is 
an  act  of  religion  to  labor  for  the  good  of  your  country,  to  res- 
cue her  from  hellish  chains  and  laws.  Will  any  man  stand  by 
and  see  his  mother  butchered  or  his  sister  ravished,  when  he  can 
prevent  these  foul  deeds?  Cursed,  indeed,  would  be  the  wretch 
that  would  idly  look  on  when  he  could  prevent  such  unholy 
actions  !  Ireland  is  more  to  us  than  mother  or  sister.  Catholic 
theology  teaches  us  that  we  must  sacrifice  ourselves  and  our  all 
but  religion  for  the  well-being  of  our  country,  if  necessary.  The 
Church  does  not  forbid  us  to  labor,  to  struggle  for  liberty;  but 
consecrates  the  aspiration,  and  blesses  the  legitimate  means  that 
will  lead  to  such  an  end.  Certainly,  the  Church  must  ever  con- 
demn foolish,  indiscreet,  imprudent  movements  that  will  inevi- 
tably bring  destruction  on  the  people  and  do  no  good. 

Ireland  is  worthy  of  all  our  love  and  of  all  the  trials  we  can 
undergo  for  her.  For  seven  hundred  years  barbarous  England 
has  been  trying  to  wipe  her  out  as  a  nation,  but  she  has  failed. 
The  Irish  nationality  is  as  marked,  is  as  noble,  is  as  purely  Celtic 
to-day  as  when  Brian  Boru  governed  our  glorious  country.  There 
is  no  similarity  in  any  way  between  Ireland  and  England;  there 
is  no  love  between  them;  there  is  no  congeniality  of  feeling; 
there  is  no  bond  of  union.  England  holds  us  chained,  bound 
to  her  by  force;  and  you  are  well  aware  that  brute  force  alone 
keeps  us  fettered.  Away  down  deep  in  the  heart  of  every  Irish 
man,  woman  and  child  is  a  yearning  for  a  divorce,  an  everlasting 
separation  from  that  godless  nation;  and  that  thirst  for  emanci- 


[14] 

pation  from  British  shackles  makes  every  nerve  and  sinew  dance 
with  delight  whenever  we  hear  that  England  is  in  a  difficulty. 
For  "  England's  difficulty  will  be  our  chance." 

Irishmen,  there  are  two  noble  ends  in  view  in  celebrating  St. 
Patrick's  Day.  The  first  is  to  thank  God  for  the  faith  He  gave 
us  through  St.  Patrick,  and  which  we,  blessed  be  God!  have 
never  lost ;  the  second  is  to  return  God  thanks  for  the  glories 
of  our  nation,  and  for  the  nationality  which  could  jiever  be  taken 
from  us.  The  day  that  Irishmen  will  cease  to  celebrate  St. 
Patrick's  Day  (which  is  so  fraught  with  noble  memories),  becom- 
ingly, will  see  Irish  faith  and  patriotism  on  the  wane.  May 
Heaven  avert  such  a  calamity ! 

Then,  Irishmen,  gather  your  children  around  you;  collect  your 
neighbors  and  tell  them  of  the  past  glories  of  the  ocean  island, 
both  when  she  was  pagan,  and  when  she  was  a  Christian  govern- 
ment. Tell  them  how  for  ages  in  our  pagan  days  we  were  a 
peaceable,  happy  people,  with  a  civilization  far  superior  to  that 
of  Greece  or  Rome;  that  we  were  free  from  the  barbarous 
practices  of  idolatry  that  Avere  found  elsewhere;  that  we  were 
a  most  enlightened  nation;  that  no  nation  has  preserved  its 
history  so  completely,  so  accurately  as  Ireland,  from  the  fact  that 
from  the  very  beginning  she  bad  scribes  and  recorders  of  the 
deeds  of  every  clan,  every  province,  and  of  the  whole  nation. 
Tell  them  that  our  kings  were  selected  because  they  were  the 
best  men  of  the  clans,  and  the  noblest  of  the  noble,  and  that 
if  there  was  a  detect  in  mind  or  body,  the  one  having  such 
defect  could  not  be  king  in  Ireland.  Tell  them  that  the  Irish 
were  never  slaves,  and  that  they  always  had  the  daring  and 
martial  ardor  peculiar  to  the  Celtic  race.  Say  to  them  that 
liome  never  owned  a  foot  of  Irish  soil  whilst  its  power 
was  felt  over  British  land.  Announce  to  them  that  the  Knights 
of  Erin  were  the  most  chivalrous  band  of  noblemen  the  world 
ever  saw,  "  sworn  to  defend  justice,  learning  and  women."  And 
when  you  have  briefly  depicted  the  glories  of  pagan  Ireland, 
then  with  flashing  eyes  and  dilated  soul  speak  to  them  of  the 
glories  of  Christian  Ireland;  declare  to  them  that  Ireland  did 
not  do,  as  most  other  nations  did,  put  her  Apostles  to  death;  that 
for  three  hundred  years  after  Saint  Patrick,  she  was  the  Island 
of  Saints;  that  she  was  the  nursery  of  learning  for  all  Europe, 
and  that  students  came  from  all  parts  to  her  shores  to  be 
enriched  with  the  priceless  treasures  of  learning;  declare  to 
them  that  she  was  the  Island  of  the  Learned  as  well  as  of  the 
Saints.  Announce  to  them  that  our  saints  and  learned  men, 
filled  with  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  with  a  thirst  to 
propagate  learning,  went  over  to  Scotland,  Iceland,  Norway, 
Wales,  France,  Austria,  Germany  and  even  to  Italy,  to  briitg  the 
people  of  those  countries  Irish  faith  and  Irish  learning.  Tell 
them  how  we  resisted  the  Danes  who  prowled  around  our  shores 
so  often  and  so  long.  Make  known  that  though  we  are  regarded 
for  the  last  seven  hundred  years  as  the  property  of  England,  that 
we  still  sigh  for  liberty,  and  love  our  njoble  mother,  Ireland,  as 
faithfully  as  ever,  and  that  we  every  day  say,  in  the  spirit  of  the 


[  15] 

Israelites  when  iu  bondage,  and  for  the  same  reason,  for  our 
religion  and  nationality  were  assailed  in  every  possible  manner: 
"Upon  the  rivei's  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  and  wept,  when  we 
remembered  Sion  (the  Irish  Church.)  If  I  forget  thee,  O 
Jerusalem  (Ireland)  !  let  my  right  hand  be  forgotten.  Let  my 
tongue  cleave  to  my  jaws,  if  I  do  not  remember  thee.  O  daugh- 
ter of  Babylon  (cruel,  brutal  England) !  blessed  shall  he  be  who 
shall  repay  thee  thy  jDayment  which  thou  hast  paid  us."  Recount 
to  them  the  bitterness  of  the  chalice  which  was  given  to  Ireland 
in  the  days  of  the  Plantagenets  and  Tudors.  Point  out  England's 
duplicity,  her  meanness,  her  want  of  honesty  in  all  her  dealings 
with  Ireland;  say,  however,  that  Ireland  kept  her  faith  and  pre- 
served her  nationality  in  spite  of  all  the  persecutions;  and  then, 
Irishmen,  your  children  and  your  neighbors  will  be  fired  with  the 
spirit  of  all  true  patriots,  with  love  for  their  country  and  an 
efficacious  and  sacred  desire  of  seeing  her  free  and  independent, 
as  she  should  be,  and  each  St.  Patrick's  Day  will  thus  make  us 
more  thoroughly  Irish  and  more  purely  Roman  Catholic. 

We  may  well  be  proud  of  our  history,  of  our  faith  and  of  our 
patriotism,  and  of  the  apostolic  spirit  of  our  people  !  Even 
since  we  have  been  under  the  despotic  sway  of  England,  in  our 
povert;/,  which  was  brought  upon  us  because  we  would  not  give 
up  our  faith,  have  we  not  sent  to  every  land  our  learned  and 
pious  missionaries?  In  every  country  of  Europe,  in  Africa,  Asia, 
India,  Australia,  are  to  be  found  Irish  prelates  and  Irish  teachers. 
What  would  America  be  to-day  in  respect  to  churches,  priests, 
nuns,  and  teachers  in  academies  and  seminaries,  if  it  were  not 
for  the  Irish  !  May  Grod,  in  His  own  good  time,  grant  indepen- 
dence to  our  dear  land!  May  He  even  hasten  that  time,  in  which 
Ireland's  sons  will  have  joy  in  bursting  the  chains  that  have  so 
long  fettered  her  noble  limbs,  and  that  she  may  once  more  be- 
come a  nation  such  as  she  has  been  —a  nation  truly  Roman 
Catholic,  a  nation  most  just,  a  nation  most  holy,  a  nation  most 
honorable,  and  a  nation  most  learned! 

It  is  our  duty.  Irishmen,  to  pray  for  this;  it  is  our  duty  to 
prudently,  wisely,  nobly  labor  for  this,  for  true  patriotism  does 
not  consist  in  words,  in  speech-making,  in  delivering  harangues; 
but  in  being  willing  and  ready  to  even  die  for  our  country  when 
the  interests  of  that  country  demands  such  sacrifice  at  our 
hands.  The  holy  scriptures  warn  us  to  "never  trust  an  enemy." 
England  is  the  sworn  enemy  of  our  faith  and  nationality;  she 
has  always  deceived  us,  and  she  has  never  conceded  anything  to 
us  except  when  forced,  or  when  she  was  in  difficulty,  and  it  was 
her  interest  .to  conciliate  us.  Then  it  is  plain  that  we  have  to 
rely  on  the  cannon's  roar,  the  whizzing  bullet  and  the  flash- 
ing scimitar.  Religion  first  and  above  all  things — that  means 
obedience  to  God  and  to  His  Church — then  love  of  country.  I 
would  sum  up  in  a  few  words  what  I,  as  a  priest,  religious 
and  Irishman,  feel  to-day  in  regard  to  the  topic  already  discussed, 
and,  in  my  three-fold  capacity,  concluded  my  meditation  this 
morning. 


r  16  ] 

O  God  !  I  beseech  Thee  to  liberate  noble,  faithful  Ireland 
from  the  infernal  grasp  of  England!  I  love  my  country  dearly, 
because  she  has  ever  been  so  faithful  to  the  Church,  and  so  honest 
in  her  dealings;  but  yet,  my  God,  if  you  foresee  that  she  would 
lose  her  faith  by  being  made  free,  then  I  pray  thee,  from  my 
heart,  leave  her  shackled,  and,  if  necessary,  torture  her  still  more, 
— yea,  my  God,  blot  her  out  of  existence  before  she  loses  what  she 
has  ever  prized  most — her  faith;  or  before  she  would  abandon 
the  Pope,  as  other  nations  have  done.  But,  O  God  !  if  Ireland 
will  remain  true  to  thee,  in  becoming  free — and  I  don't  doubt  it 
for  a  moment,  and  will  continue  to  be  Roman  and  Apostolic — 
then,  in  the  name  of  the  Triune  Deity,  let  her  slavery  be  ended  be- 
fore to-morrow's  sun  shall  rise.  Send  thy  angels  to  deliver  her 
from  the  thraldom  which  has  lasted  so  long.  This  is  my  religion, 
this  is  my  patriotism,  and  it  embraces  all  legitimate  means. 
May  God  and  His  Immaculate  Mother  and  our  great  Apostle 
guard  the  faith  and  nationality  of  faithful  Ireland,  and  give 
strength  to  the  arms,  and  victory  to  the  heroes  who  will  wisely, 
prudently  and  legitimately  fight  for  such  a  noble  cause  against 
the  most  cursed  of  governments  that  ever  ruled  an  oppressed 
nation,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  that  ever  misruled  a  most 
Catholic  people. 

We  may  well  conclude  in  the  words  of  our  national  poet — 
Davis  : 

"And  'tis  for  this  we  think  and  toil,  and  knowledge  strive  to  glean, 
That  we  may  pull  the  English  Eed  below  the  Irish  Green, 
And  leave  onr  sons  sweet  Liberty,  and  smiling  plenty  spread 
Above  the  land  once  dark  with  blood — the  Green  above  the  Red. 

The  jealous  English  tyrant  now  has  banned  the  Irish  Green, 
And  forced  us  to  conceal  it  like  a  something  foul  and  mean; 
But  yet,  by  Heavens  !  he'll  sooner  raise  his  victims  from  the  dead 
Than  force  our  hearts  to  leave  the  Green,  and  cotton  to  the  Red  ! 

We'll  trust  ourselves,  for  God  is  good,  and  blesses  those  who  lean 
On  their  brave  hearts,  and  not  upon  an  earthly  king  or  queen; 
And,  freely  as  we  lift  our  hands,  we  vow  our  blood  to  shed 
Once  and  forevermore  to  raise  the  Green  above  the  Red." 


CRITICISM  ON  FATHER  RODNEY'S  ORATION. 


(FBOM  the  SAN  FRANCISCO  "  COMMEKCIAL  ADVOCATE.") 


You  Must  be  True  Komans  to  be  Christians. 


Father  Kooney,  in  his  address  in  this  citj  on  the  17th  of 
the  present  month,  gave  utterance  to  the  treasonable  and 
American  principle,  that  the  Irish  Eoman  Catholics  among 
us  should — 

"Swear  to  be  above  all  things  Koman,  and  never  listen  to  any 
man  who  would  seduce  you  from  your  allegiance  to  Eome.  In 
your  conventions,  gatherings  and  meetings,  allow  no  man  to  have 
influence  over  you  that  rejects  Rome." 

The  purport  of  this  advice  is,  that  if  the  order  emanates 
from  the  Pope  of  Kome  to  break  up  our  system  of  diffusing 
knowledge  in  our  public  schools;  or  to  create  dissensions 
among  our  rich  and  poor;  or  to  obtain  control  of  our  political 
institutions,  with  the  ultimate  view  of  gaining  for  the  hier- 
archy the  ascendancy  in  our  national  affairs,  and  thus  give  the 
Church  a  greater  advantage  than  she  otherwise  could  obtain ; 
or  for  any  other  movement  or  plan  of  action  that  would  be 
subservient  to  the  interests  of  the  Papal  power  and  detri- 
mental to  our  free  institutions,  they  should  SWEAPt  to  im- 
plicitly follow  those  dictations  and  in  every  instance  hold  the 
mandates  of  the  Prelate  to  be  paramount  to  the  laws  of  their 
adopted  home.  In  swearing  to  the  dogma  of  this  priest,  they 
at  once  commit  a  wilful  perjury;  for  in  taking  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  American  government  they  have  positively 
sworn  to  cast  off  all  allegiance  to  any  foreign  potentate,  prince 
or  power. 

Here  we  have  an  instance  of  a  so-styled  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel of  the  truthful  and  holy  Nazarene,  demanding  from  his 
hearers,  and  the  adherents  to  the  creed  which  he  endeavors 
to  promulgate,  that  they  should  violate  their  oath  to  the 
government  which  in  its  noble  magnanimity  and  bountiful 
generosity  has  tendered  them  a  home  in  its  free  and  prosper- 
ous laud.  By  so  doing  he  invites  their  co-operation  in  per- 
jury and  treason. 

Then,  with  an  arrogance  which  approaches  sublimity  in 
its  marvelous  disregard  of  history  and  truth,  says  of  Ireland : 
''Our  civilization  was  superior  to  that  of  Greece  or  Rome." 


[18] 

\ 

We  would  advise  Munchausen  if  he  were  living  at  the  present 
day  to  surrender  his  claim,  for  which  he  is  so  notorious,  to 
this  popish  priest,  Father  Kooney;  for  his  reverence,  cer- 
tainly, after  that  utterance,  has  an  undoubted  right  to  such 
supremacy. 

He  gives  the  following  advice  to  his  countrymen  who  have 
.come  to  dwell  among  us: 

"  Trust  your  priests,  as  you  ever  have  as  a  nation,  and  when 
the  i)ropitious  moment  comes  to  settle  accounts  with  brutal  old 
England,  the  murderer  of  your  priests  and  forefathers,  the 
merciless  despoiler  of  your  sanctuaries,  the  pilferer  of  your  pos- 
sessions, and  the  starver  of  your  people,  those  priests  will  bless 
the  sword  that  you  will  use,  that  it  may  cut  the  more  keenly;  the 
bullet  that  it  may  perforate  the  more  deeply;  and  your  hands 
that  they  may  wield  the  weapon  more  powerfully;  and  your 
nerves  that  you  may  move  steadily  and  avenge  your  injured 
mother  and  your  noble  ancestors." 

Not  content  with  the  endeavor  to  array  class  against  class 
among  our  citizens,  this  Romish  priest  would  gladly  embroil 
two  nations  that  are  now  in  amity  and  peace  with  each  other 
in  all  the  horrors  and  evils  of  a  war.  Has  he  forgotten  the 
Divine  injunction  to  "Forgive  your  enemies,"  and  to  "Do 
good  to  them  that  would  persecute  you  ''  ?  Has  the  promise 
of  God  passed  from  his  remembrance — "vengeance  is  mine; 
I  2^/// repay  "  ?  Has  the  beautiful  sentiment  of  "  Peace  on 
earth  and  good  will  to  men  "  ever  been  heard  by  him  ?  And 
he  tells  them  further  that  : 

"The  Pope  in  the  mind  of  the  Irish,  as  in  the  mind  of  the 
Universal  Church,  meant  the  one  next  to  God,  the  centre  of  di- 
vine authority  on  earth." 

Or  that  the  orders  of  the  Pope  should  be  obeyed,  no 
matter  what  they  were,  and  be  acknowledged  by  Irish  Roman 
Catholics  as  above  all  other  considerations. 

If  this  is  in  accordance  with  American  principles,  if  it 
assimilates  with  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  the  American  Government,  then  we  must  admit  our 
obtuseness  in  our  inability  to  perceive  it,  or  our  want  of 
comprehension  of   the  true  meaning  of   our  language. 


REJOINDER. 


"  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy  neighbor." 

In   the  Commercial  Advocates  issue  of    March  30th,    one 

number  of  which  accidentally  came  into    my  posession  only 

a  few  days  ago,  I  noticed  a  most  insidious  but,  of  course, 

elegantly-manipulated  review  of  my  Patrick's  Day  oration.    I 

would  not  deign  to  notice  personal  flings  at  myself,  for  it  is 

generally  admitted  that  only  fools  and  ill-bred  persons  attack 

when  there  is  no  reason  for  it;  but  I  feel  bound  to  defend  the 

views  I  gave  in  my  discourse,  and  to  make  some  explanations 

rendered   necessary  by  said   attack,  lest,  by  my  silence,  I 

should  be  considered,  in  any  quarter,  as  backing  down  from 

principles  I  hold  sacred  and  most  dear. 

The  writer  of  the  review  of  my  discourse  must  be  a  most 

keen  and   penetrating  jurist;  his  comments  on  my  oration 

clearly  prove  this.       He  declared  that  I  spoke  treasonable 

language  in  asking  Catholics,  who  are  citizens  of  this  glorious 

Republic,  "to  swear  to  be,  above  all  things,  Roman,  and 

never  to  listen  to  any  man  who  would  wish  to  seduce  them 

from  their  allegiance  to  Rome."     Would  the  dear  reviewer — 

mighty  Apollo,  Nemesis  itself — be  so  kind  as  to  inform  me 

in  what  my  treason  consists  ?  I  must  bow  to  this  man 
of  legal  lore.  I  must,  then,  have  been  wrong  in  my  views  of 
allegiance  to  this  country;  but,  under  the  guidance  of  my 
wise  mentor,  I  will  yet  come  all  right  !  This  discrimina- 
ting criticiser  is  just  the  profound  scholar  I  have  been  look- 
ing for;  and  it  is  a  miracle  of  a  wonder  that  the  people  of 
San  Francisco  did  not  discover  this  star  in  their  religious 
firmament  before  this;  and,  strange,  it  is  by  the  merest  ac- 
cident that  this  light  is  even  now  discovered.  Had  I  not 
preached  on  Patrick's  Day,  he  would  have  been  one  of  the 
Nebulae.  Blackstone,  Kent,  and  all  the  able  jurists  pale 
into  insignificance  when  compared  with  my  amiable  casti- 
gator.  Such  a  ready  judge,  one  who  can  so  quickly  despatch 
a  six-column  oration,  and  do  it  so  satisfactorily,  at  lea.-.t  to 
himself,  ought  to  be  appointed  at  once  to  expedite  the  heavy 
cases  of  our  courts  ! 

But,  seriously,  I  would  ask  my  charitable  censor — for  I 
am  only  a  "Popish  priest" — to  inform  me  where  the  treason  is 
in  my  words?     I  said:  "  The  Pope,  in  the  Irish  mind  as  in 


[20] 

the  mind  of  the  Universal  Church,  means  the  being  next  to 
God,  the  centre  of  divine  authority  on  earth  " — in  other 
words,  the  Pope  is  the  mouthpiece  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
foundation  of  the  Church.  But  Christ  says  that  His  Church 
is  a  spiritual  kingdom.  Why  does  this  most  learned  jurist 
try  to  drag  me  from  the  domain  of  the  spiritual  kingdom  to 
the  arena  of  politics  ?  Did  I  say  that  we  were  to  obey  the 
Pope  in  purely  temporal  matters,  or  did  I  declare  that  we, 
as  American  citizens,  or  as  Irishmen,  should  obey  him  in 
purely  political  matters?  Never  !  When  I  said  that  "we 
should  swear  to  be,  above  all  things,  Roman,"  I  was  refer- 
ring to  our  obedience  to  the  divinely-constituted  head  of  the 
Church;  I  had  in  view  only  our  duty  as  Christians,  and  i 
never  dreamt  once  about  politics. 

Hear  how  my  polished  adversary  deduces  conclusions  from 
the  above  words.  He  is  a  most  logical  antagonist,  and 
deserves  close  watching  !  How  beautifully  his  deductions 
flow  from  my  words !  ' '  The  purport  of  this  advice  is,  that 
if  the  order  emanates  from  the  Pope  of  Rome  to  break  up 
our  system  of  diilusing  knowledge  in  our  public  schools,  or 
to  create  dissension  among  our  rich  and  poor,  or  to  obtain 
control  of  our  political  institutions  with  the  ultimate  view 
of  gaining  for  the  hierarchy  the  ascendancy  in  our  national 
affairs,  and  thus  give  the  Church  a  greater  advantage  than 
she  otherwise  could  obtain,  or  for  any  other  movement  or 
plan  of  action  that  would  be  subservient  to  the  interests  of 
the  Papal  power,  and  detrimental  to  our  free  institutions, 
they  should  swear  to  implicitly  follow  those  dictations,  and 
in  "every  instance  hold  the  mandates  of  the  prelate  to  be 
paramount  to  the  laws  of  their  adopted  home.  In  swearing 
to  the  dogma  of  this  priest,  they  at  once  commit  a  wilful 
perjur}';  for,  in  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  American 
Government,  they  have  positively  sworn  to  cast  off  all  alle- 
giance to  any  foreign  potentate,  prince  or  power." 

The  juggernaut  weight  of  these  mighty  deductions,  so 
logically  drawn  from  my  words,  almost  crush  me,  and  I  feel 
sure  they  would  deaden  me,  only  my  epidermis  is  so  thick 
and  my  neck  so  confoundedly  stiff,  especially  where  my  faith 
or  nationality  is  concerned.  Will  the  most  eminent  jurist 
please  to  answer  me  one  question  ?  Is  God  a  foreign  prince 
or  potentate  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  oath  we  foreigners 
had  to  take?  If  He  be  regarded  as  such,  then  I  never  took 
the  oath,  for  I  never  intended  to  give  up  God  for  any  coun- 
try. If  He  be  not  regarded  as  a  foreign  prince  or  potentate, 
but  as  the  first  and  great  ruler  in  every  nation,  "by  whom 
kings  rule,"  then  my  allegiance  to  my  God  should  not  clash, 
and  cannot,  with  the  State,  nor  should  the  State  make  laws 
that  will  clash  with  my  duty  to  my  first  superior — the  Most 


High. 


[21] 

The  meaning,  then,  of  my  words,  "  Swear  to  be,  above  all 
things.  Eoman,"  is  that  we  must  above  all  things  obey  God. 
And  if  our  temporal  interests,  or  State  regulations,  should 
try  to  stand  between  us  and  God,  we  must  adhere  to  God; 
for  the  Good  Book  says  :  "It  is  better  to  obey  God  than 
princes."  I  hope  my  most  exalted  opponent  will  see  that  his 
deductions  are  not  regarded  by  me,  I  suppose,  on  account  of 
my  obtuseness,  as  altogether  in  harmony  with  the  principles 
I  laid  down.  I  would  remind  my  most  serene  antagonist 
that  his  deductions  are  out  of  joint.  His  kind  of  shooting 
may  be  very  good  for  making  a  report,  for  gathering  Protes- 
tants around  the  standard  of  bigotry,  but  he  did  not  hit  the 
mark;  in  fact,  he  went  so  high  above  my  now  diminished 
head  that  I  barely  heard  the  volley,  and  I  felt  a  conscious- 
ness that  I  was  not  at  all  in  danger  in  being  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  such  a  shooter.  My  super-eminent  attacker  may  be 
a  splendid  authority  on  treason,  but  he  has  yet  to  learn  the 
science  of  gunnery — logic.  He  has  wasted  all  his  powder, 
for  he  has  been  shooting  at  impossible  conjectures,  conjured 
up  by  the  (to  him)  hideous  spectre  of  Popery. 

Let  me  say  in  brief  to  my  benign  opposer,  that  we  Catholics 
regard  the   Pope   as    being   next  to  God,  and  our  spiritual 
head  on  earth,  so  far  as  religion,  faith,  morals  and  discipline 
are  C(mcerned;  but  in  the  domain  of  pure  politics,  of  science, 
of  purely  temporal  matters,  we  are  Popes  ourselves.     If,  by 
an  impossible  supposition,  the  Pope  were  to  urge  us  to  rise 
in   rebellion  against  America;  if   he  were  to  call  on  us  to 
fight,  or  if   he  were  to  attempt  to  assume  the  control  of   our 
purses,  we  would  defiantly  say  to  him:  "  Thy  kingdom,  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  is  not  of  this  world;"  rule  thy  Church, 
but  leave  purely  political  matters,  which  belong  to  the  State, 
to  the  people.     If   he  would  come  over  here  with  an  armed 
force  to  invade   our   shores,  we   Irish,    "who   swear   to  be 
above  all  things  Roman,"  would  rise  to  a  man,  to  drive  him, 
not  as  Pope,  but  as  a  robber  and  usurper,  from  our  adopted 
country.     In  calling  on  the  people  to  be  true  Romans,  every 
one,  but  a  most  exalted  genius,  who  always  sees  some  things 
that  common  minds  can't  grasp  in  expressions,  must  under- 
stand  that   I   meant  religion   before  everything  else,  even 
before  nationality  or  patriotism.     Where,  then,  I  most  hum- 
bly  ask,    is   the   treason   in   my   remarks  ?     Where   is   the 
foundation  for  my  profound  reviewer  saying,  that  ' '  my  advice 
urges  to  wilful  perjury?" 

From  some  other  remarks  of  my  most  sapient  adviser,  one 
would  be  tempted  to  imagine  that  we  Irish  are  here  only  by 
sufferance,  that  the  Americans  are  most  kind  to  us  in  allowing 
us  to  remain  here  at  all.  Will  my  most  calm  and  illustrious 
propounder  of  sage  things,  let  a  "Popish  priest"  declare  to  him 
that  we  are  all  foreigners  here  but  the  poor  Indians,  who  have 


■[2'2  J 

been  driven  from  place  to  place,  until  their  race  is  nearly 
extinct?  Let  me  say,  in  my  "arrogance,"  that  we  Irish- 
American  citizens  are  not  hece  by  sufferance,  that  we  helped 
to  found  this  grand  Republic,  that  we  stood  by  it  in  the  hour 
of  trial,  and  we  will  never  allow  its  grand  Hag  to  be  dragged 
in  the  mire.  Yes,  we  have  a  sacred  right  here,  and  we  have 
a  sacred  duty  to  perform — to  keep  up  the  glorious  Republic  ! 
It  cannot  be  said  that  the  Irish  were  on  the  side  of  England 
at  any  time  against  this  country;  but  we  have  very  good 
reasons  for  knowing  that  there  are  now  some  blatant,  so- 
called  Americans,  whose  ancestors  were  Hessians  or  Col- 
onists, who  did  not  help  the  American  cause,  but  gave  much 
trouble  to  their  noble  neighbors  in  the  Colonies  !  Of  course 
I  would  not  dare  to  insinuate  for  a  moment  that  my  most  lumi- 
nous opposer  came  from  that  class — all  I  mean  is,  that  the 
Irish  certainly  did  not  come  from  that  class.  My  noble 
opponent  has  been  so  much  taken  up  in  musty  tomes  of  law 
that  he  could  not  find  time  for  reading  Washington's  Address 
to  the  Catholics  who  fought  for  American  independence,  nor 
probably  did  he  ever  hear  of  the  splendid  array  of  Irish 
names  of  heroes  who  were  officers  in  our  armies  and  navies, 
from  the  dawn  of  our  independence  to  the  present  hour.  Nor 
did  he  care  about  counting  the  innumerable  hosts  of  Irish- 
men who  shed  their  blood  for  this  country;  no,  nor  he  never 
heard  how  Catholic  France  came  to  our  assistance  in  the  dark 
hour  of   our  slavery. 

Let  me  furthermore  tell  m}^  sublime  wrestler  that  neither 
the  Catholic  nor  the  Irish  element  will  ever  break  up  or 
machinate  against  this  government;  but  if  it  ever  be  broken 
up,  which  may  God  avert !  it  will  be  by  the  secret  organizations 
of  bigotry,  of  which  the  Commercial  Advocate  is  a  warm 
defender.  I  would  expect  so  able  a  jurist,  as  my  opponent 
has  proved  himself  to  be,  to  be  posted  on  everything.  But  a 
universal  genius  such  as  Napoleon  is  a  "  rara  avis" — that  is, 
of  rare  occurrence.  Generally,  as  there  is  a  predominant 
passion  in  every  man,  so  there  is  also  a  peculiar  talent,  if 
there  be  any  there  at  all.  Law,  jurisprudence,  special  cases 
of  treason,  where  a  keen,  penetrating  eye  is  required  in  order 
to  detect  its  lurking,  is  the  shining  specialty  of  my  con- 
siderate adversary;  hence,  when  he  hears  anything  of  his- 
tory, he  calls  it  Munchausenism.  I  have  heard  some  good 
people,  who  were  inconceivably  ignorant — and  they  were  not 
Irish — say  that  the  burning  of  the  witches  at  Salem,  Mass., 
that  the  Blue  Laws  of  Connecticut,  that  the  story  of 
the  Irish  having  fought  for  the  independence  of  this 
country  whilst  many  of  the  Protestant  Colonists  were  on 
the  side  of  the  home  government,  that  the  miracles  of  our 
Lord — were  all  Munchausen  stories.  I  would  not  for  the 
world  apply  to  my  contented  demonstrator  the  words  so 


[  23] 

often  quoted:  "There  are  none  so  blind  as  those  who  will 
not  see."  I  always  gave  credit  to  jurists  for  knowing  at 
least  enough  of  logic  to  tell  them  that  naked  expressions, 
bare  declarations,  unsupported  statements,  can  fairly  be 
dismissed  with  a  bare  negation.  "  Quod  (jratis  asseritur, 
gratis  negaiur." 

I  thought  my  benign  assailer  was  only  filled  with  law;  but 
I  confess  I  made  a  mistake.  He  appears  to  be  filled  with 
Scripture,  too — it  is  wonderful  "  hoAV  one  small  head  can 
carry  all  he  knows."  I  thought  at  first  he  was  a  lawyer,  from 
his  profound  knowledge  of  law,  and  the  facile  manner  in 
which  he  dashes  off  legal  technicalities;  but  now  I  am 
beginning  to  think  he  is  a  propounder  or  retailer  of  Scriptural 
sayings.  In  fact,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  what  manner  of 
man  he  is,  under  the  guise  of  a  newspaper  attache.  Had  I 
taken  the  ordinary  precaution  of  a  phrenologist,  put  him  on 
a  pivot,  wheeled  him  round  a  few  times,  examined  his  bumps, 
1  would  at  once  have  taken  his  measure,  and  I  would  have 
seen  the  halo  of  scriptural  lore  shining  out  from  him.  I 
could  never  apply  to  my  most  mellifluous  denouncer  the 
words  of  a  great  man,  "Fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to 
tread."  I  would  say,  however,  that  it  is  always  dangerous 
to  attack  old  Rome.  What  does  this  sonorous  upbraider 
mean,  when  he  says:  "Not  content  with  the  endeavor  to 
array  class  against  class  among  our  citizens,  this  Romish 
priest  would  gladly  embroil  two  nations,  that  are  now  in 
amity  and  peace  with  each  other,  in  all  the  horrors  and  evils 
of  war."  Profound  scripturalist  !  towering  Hector!  (would  I 
exclaim  to  my  sagacious  defamer,)  when  did  I  or  any  of  my 
calling  "attempt  to  array  class  against  class  among  our 
citizens  ?  "  When  did  I  say  or  do  anything  of  an  inflammatory 
character  to  stir  up  the  people  or  arouse  their  bad  passions? 

He  most  charmingly  asks  me  if  I  forgot  the  divine  injunc- 
tion: "  Forgive  your  enemies;  do  good  to  them  that  would 
persecute  you;"  and  he  blandly  says:  "Remember, 
vengeance  is  mine;  I  will  repay."  What  does  my  sturdy  Scrip- 
turalist want  to  prove  by  those  texts  ?  He  alone  knows.  He 
is  so  taken  up  with  law  that  he  forgets  a  nation  has  no  soul, 
as  St.  Augustine  says.  I  never  advised  strife  or  contest  with 
individuals;  I  never  said  you  can  fail  in  charity  to  any  one. 
Not  at  all.  I  am  too  supremely  obtuse  to  understand  that 
these  texts  forbid  war;  they  never  were  understood  to  do  so. 
We  would  be  under  England  yet,  if  his  charitable  application 
of  the  Scriptures  were  carried  out;  it  may  be,  that  is  what 
the  knowing  writer  in  the  Commercial  Advocate  wants ;  in  that 
case,  who  is  the  traitor  to  tliis  country?  Does  my  sagacious 
opponent  really  mean  that  the  texts  he  quoted  for  my  benefit 
are  opposed  to  war?  Then  his  doctrine  is,  there  must  be  no 
war.     All  the  nations  of  the  earth,  particularly  the  tyrannical 

370562 


[24] 

ones,  ought  to  vote  a  subsidy  to  sucli  a  champion  of  their 
cause.  I  am  very  much  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  because 
England  is  attacked  that  my  most  glorious  slayer  is  annoyed. 
Must  a  nation,  then,  when  she  is  overcome  by  brute  force 
and  enslaved,  give  up  her  aspirations  for  liberty?  Must 
she  be  content  with  being  absorbed  into  her  conqueror? 
Shade  of  Munchausen !  thou  hast  been  restored,  filled  with 
vitality  and  even  Avith  more  sparkling  and  fascinating 
radiance,  into  the  corpus  of  my  gigantic  pugilist. 

Hear  wisdom  and  history  speaking  through  this  gran- 
diloquent writer:  "This  Romish  priest"  (I  suppose  the 
etiquette  of  the  forensic  stj'le  requires  the  use  of  the  elegant 
word  "  Romish"  instead  of  the  vulgar  Roman)  "would  gladly 
embroil  two  nations  that  are  now  at  amity  and  peace  with 
each  other  in  all  the  horrors  and  evils  of  war."  Can  it  be  that 
my  noble  rebutter  has  been  sleeping  the  sleep  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  or  has  he  a  mania  for  turning  over  the  folios  of 
law  to  such  an  extent  that  he  has  not  time  to  post  himself  on 
Anglo-Irish  peace  and  amity  ?  I  have  heard  of  some  poor 
people,  living  in  mountainous  districts,  far  awav  from  the  in- 
fluence of  the  press,  who,  for  several  successive  elections 
after  his  death,  cast  their  votes  for  Andrew  Jackson.  I  used 
to  think  that  was  a  Munchausen  story;  but  I  can  well  believe 
now  it  was  not,  when  I  have  printed  evidence  before  me  that  a 
man  lives  in  the  nineteenth  century,  associated  with  the 
press,  the  grand  difl'user  of  knowledge,  who  actually  has  de- 
clared that  Ireland  and  England  are  at  peace  and  in  amity  ! 
Such  peace  !  such  amity !  !  Does  Ireland  love  England  ? 
does  Ireland  want  to  remain  as  she  is?  is  Ireland  content 
with  England?  No;  and  she  never  will  be  content  with 
anything  less  than  complete  independence.  Shame  upon 
any  son  of  hers,  no  matter  who  he  is,  who  would  be  content 
with  less  ! 

I  am  well  aware  that  there  must  be  great,  mighty  reasons 
for  revolution,  and  there  must  be  strong  hope  of  success. 
I  am  not  advocating  rebellion.  I  am  not  defending  revolu- 
tion, except  under  the  proper  conditions.  If  the  time  comes 
when  we  can  shake  off  the  galling  yoke,  we  will  know  how  to 
dare  to  do  it.  What  a  magnificent  aptitude  my  jocund  reviler 
has  for  putting  things  !  I  almost  envy  him  his  gift !  He 
can,  without  a  change  of  countenance,  make  or  deny  history. 
It  is  most  useful  to  have  such  a  ready  genius  in  our  midst. 
I  am  surprised  the  good  people  of  this  beautiful  city  don't 
utilize  so  able  an  expounder  of  law,  history,  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  so  amiable  a  representative  of  Christian 
peace  and  amity.  For  my  part,  I  have  been  wonderfully 
amused  by  the  transparencies  of  my  most  radiant  enlightener. 
He  puts  me  in  mind  of  "  Will  o'  the  Wisp." 

FATHER  ROONEY,  O.  P. 


V/a^,VA-^. 


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